Salman Bhaijaan told me that I should cut an album: Maniesh Paul

New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- Known for his wit and humour that he displays in several TV and award shows, actor Maniesh Paul is fondly called the Sultan of the stage.

And now, he has added another feather to his cap. He has turned singer with a single, Harjai, and, in this project, he has been joined by Iulia Vantur, actor Salman Khan's rumoured love interest.

"I used to sing for my college band; so the fondness for music was always there. I was at the Bigg Boss [reality show] set once, chatting with Salman Khan, and told him that I wanted to do something bigger.

He said, 'You are a part of the Da-Bangg tour. Why don't you open it? But you will have to sing for it.' So, I sang a rap in a show, and that's where it all started," says Paul.

Explaining the background story about how the album happened, he says, "Sachin Gupta [composer and lyricist] is a dear friend and he had a song for me. And when I dubbed for it, and took the song to bhaijaan's [Salman] farmhouse, he told me to come out with an album."

But, one wonders, how Iulia came on board for the song.

When asked, Paul says, "I was singing the song in front of Salman, when Iulia started to hum along. At that time, I suggested that she, too, should be a part of the song and she agreed. With a female singer, it became a proper romantic track."

But, wasn't it difficult for Iulia, a Romanian, to grasp the Hindi lyrics?

"She got the accent very fast. She doesn't talk in great Hindi, but she had her accent in place. She was in tune and didn't have to work hard on that," says Paul, who expects people to refer to him as an actor who can sing and not the other way round. "I will always be an actor first and singing is my passion," he says.